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“Very difficult, I’d guess. They’re aren’t many women out there like me.”
Juan laughed. “At least you know your worth.”
She shrugged. “False modesty isn’t one of my flaws.”
“Then you’d fit right in with us. What do you think about joining the Corporation? As you can tell, it’s dirty work sometimes, but you’d be surrounded by people just like you, people who are the best at what they do.”
“I’m assuming the job isn’t open because someone retired.”
Juan’s eyes clouded with Mike Trono’s memory. “It’s also dangerous work, as you’ve seen.”
“Being a bodyguard is, too. And from what I’ve heard, the pay isn’t nearly as good as it is for your crew.”
“You’d be well compensated. We can talk numbers, if you’re interested.”
She paused. “Let me think about it.”
“Absolutely,” Juan said, rising from his chair. “Max tells me we’ll be ready to set sail in two days. We hope you’ll still be here when we cast off.”
Raven never took her piercing brown eyes off him as he left.
Juan smiled to himself as he walked to the medical bay, since he thought he already knew her answer. It would be fun having her around.
When he got there, he found Julia helping Beth from her bed into a wheelchair. She looked much better than she had while going through the depths of Typhoon withdrawal. Julia had told him it was touch-and-go for a while, especially with the added complication of the gunshot wound, but Beth hadn’t become fully addicted in the short time she’d taken the drug. Still, Julia had been tending to her round the clock to keep her from succumbing to its effects.
“You’re looking good,” Juan said. “Ready for our outing?”
“Are you kidding?” Beth said with a voice that remained weak. “I’ve been getting claustrophobic in here.”
“Not too long,” Julia warned him. “She’s still regaining her strength.”
“Just a spin around the block and we’ll be back,” Juan assured her.
As he pushed her into the corridor, Beth said, “Now, what’s this surprise you promised?”
“Boy, talk about impatience. You’ll see soon enough.”
“Sorry. I’m still getting over that drug they forced on me. I hope every single one of those pills was destroyed forever.”
“We think that’s the case,” Juan said. “NUMA is currently diving on the Pearsall, but most of the destroyer was wrecked in the blast created by Gerhard Brekker. If there was any still aboard, it’s gone now. The police are still excavating the entrance to the cavern, but I doubt there’s any left in there after that explosion.”
“What about the load in Tagaan’s truck?”
“Vaporized. And I don’t think Dr. Ocampo has any reason to keep trying to synthesize it. He and all the other scientists have been returned safely to their families, by the way.”
“That’s good to hear. I don’
t want anyone else to go through what I’ve experienced over the last week. And with Salvador Locsin dead, the last link to Typhoon is gone.”
Juan frowned. “No one told you?”
“Told me what?”
“I guess they didn’t want to bring it up when you were in recovery. They found Locsin pinned in the wreckage of his helicopter two days after it went down.”
Beth turned in her chair to look at Juan with concern. “He’s not dead?”
Juan shook his head. “Not yet, anyway.”
